SMI Academy Square Gallery
33 Plymouth Street
Montclair, NJ 07042
HOURS: Mon – Fri, 7am – 7pm
or by appointment
An artist in the impressionist tradition, Heller uses a variety of mediums–oil paint, acrylic paint, soft pastels, and encaustic–to create her paintings. She describes her process as beginning with the “the impression of a landscape, whether imagined, real, or dreamed. Perhaps it was a fleeting image, as if glimpsed from a speeding car, then remembered and revisited later. The painting emerges out of the color memories, and the shapes appear in the process of layering pigment on paper or canvas…until my vision is as clear to the viewer as it is to me.” Heller’s oil and acrylic paintings are done with a palette knife to facilitate the layering of paint to achieve a depth of color. Her work with soft pastels enables her to harness a great intensity of color along with expressive mark-making. Her use of encaustic paint, in which a heat gun is used to move the pigment around the surface of the painting, enables unexpected surprises—hopefully serendipitous ones—often described by artists as “happy accidents.” Ultimately, according to Heller, “My work celebrates the sensuality of nature as I find it in the crannies and corners of my garden. I have been called by Artspeak magazine ‘an artist whose color creates a shimmering surface in her landscapes. The seductive mosaic is satisfying in itself.’”
The exhibit extends to two floors of the Academy Square Gallery. The second floor features
Heller’s “The Book of Skies,” paintings depicting the extraordinary vistas often glimpsed
during an early evening walk or through rearview mirrors. Says Heller, “Always inspired by
natural phenomena, I chose the sky with its infinite possibilities for this series. How many times I have seen the sky and thought to myself, if I painted that, no one would believe it! So now I have painted those unbelievable skies, those impossible skies…all meant to give the viewer the pleasure I felt at my first sight of them.”
Artist’s Statement
My work begins with the impression of a landscape, whether imagined, real, or dreamed. Perhaps it was a fleeting image, as if glimpsed from a speeding car, then remembered and revisited later on. The painting emerges out of the color memories, and the shapes appear in the process of layering pigment on paper or canvas – sometimes one or two layers, sometimes a hundred layers – until my vision is as clear to the viewer as it is to me. I hope that my work will bring light into people’s lives, and perhaps reawaken them to the beauty of nature which is everywhere.
I recently began to work with soft pastels and have been seduced by the intensity of the colors and the ease of application. They are conducive to much mark-making, leading to a subtle rendition of the scene I wish to portray, usually a tiny portion of my garden.
My oil and acrylic paintings are done with a palette knife, which allows me to add layer upon layer. The depth of color that I can achieve with this technique is what I strive for.
And, the encaustic work is a result of some intention and a lot of serendipity! The heat gun which is used to move the pigment around the surface is a tool with a mind of its own, and I enjoy the process.
My work celebrates the sensuality of nature as I find it in the crannies and corners of my garden. I have been called by Artspeak Magazine “an artist whose color creates a shimmering surface in her landscapes. The seductive mosaic is satisfying in itself.”